1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lever partial locking construction provided in a container for a lever connector and is particularly designed to partially lock the lever to prevent its movement regardless of the direction in which the lever is inclined when the connector is accommodated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, a plurality of connectors used in an automotive wiring harness are accommodated in a container. The container is secured to a large electrical connection box via a bracket. In recent years, the connectors for an automotive vehicle have had a multitude of contacts, and thereby have become larger. Accordingly, a large force has become necessary to couple these connectors with their mating connectors. Thus, in many cases, a lever connector is employed in which a lever on one connector housing is rotated to couple one connector with the other connector.
In the prior art lever connector, as shown in FIGS. 5(A) and 5(B), a U-shaped lever 3 is rotatably mounted on the outer surface of one connector housing 2A. In a partial lock position with the connector housing 2A shown in FIG. 5(A), a lock projection 3a provided on the lever 3 is engaged with a partial lock slot 2A-a formed in the outer surface of the connector housing 2A.
The connector housing 2A is fully connected with another connector housing 2B by rotating the lever 3. In this fully connected condition, the lock projection 3a of the lever 3 is locked by the engagement of a lock portion 2B-a on the connector housing 2B.
The connector housing 2A provided with the lever 3 may be accommodated in a container 5 as shown in FIG. 6. If the lock projection 3a of the lever 3 is engaged with the partial lock groove 2A-a, there is no likelihood that the lever 3 inadvertently moves inside the container 5. However, depending upon a shipment condition required by a car manufacturer, there are cases where the lever 3 should be inclined to a side (X) opposite to the side where it can be partially locked with the connector housing 3.
In the case that the lever 3 is accommodated in the container 5 with the lever 3 inclined to the side where it cannot be partially locked with the connector housing 2A, the lever 3 is free to move in a direction of the arrow of FIG. 6 and may move during shipment since the lever 3 is not partly locked. Accordingly, the lever may be damaged.
The present invention was developed in view of the above problem and an object thereof is to partially lock a lever in the case that the lever is accommodated in a container, while being inclined in such a direction that it cannot be partially locked with a connector housing.